


how long ( did you know )

by smartbuckley



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), First Kiss, M/M, Mentions of Kidnapped Knights, Mentions of Lancelot/Gwen - Freeform, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28223127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smartbuckley/pseuds/smartbuckley
Summary: Knights have gone missing, Merlin knows how to find them and Arthur thinks Merlin is in love with Lancelot.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53
Collections: WinterKnights 2020 - a Merlin Winter/Holiday Fest





	how long ( did you know )

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [winterknights](https://winterknights.livejournal.com) 2020 on livejournal. The original prompt is down below, and I didn't completely stick with it, but I hope whomever prompted it enjoys the story. This is my first time ever writing for the Merlin fandom, with the Merthur ship. And while I know what happens in the show, I'm only on like, season two of watching it lmao, so the characters are probably extremely out of character. Apologies for that.
> 
> \----
> 
> _Knights are going missing all over Camelot, and no one knows how or why. When [insert knight of your choice] disappears shortly before Christmas, Merlin sets out to find him, a grumpy and Definitely Not Jealous Arthur tagging along at his side. Arthur is convinced that Merlin's interest in [Sir Whoever] is romantic and does his best to be supportive of his friend/manservant/love of his life while secretly eating his heart out; meanwhile, Merlin is equally certain Arthur's comments are intended as a way of letting him down gently and is quietly crushed by the rejection. Unbeknownst to either of them, the knights have been carried off by the Wild Hunt, and it will take all of Merlin's magic to get them back again. The question is, can he do so without sacrificing his relationship with Arthur into the bargain? Happy Merthur endgame, if you please :)_

The first few knights that had gone missing had gone missing early on in the day, when no one was awake nor around to realize what’s going on. The sun would rise, and the knight in question would be doing something that Arthur had asked him to do the day before or, if Arthur was also awake, a rarity, earlier on. And as far as Merlin could tell, the knight in question would be completely alone when they would suddenly just disappear - like they were taken out of thin air. 

Then the day would go on, more and more people coming out of the woodwork in order to do their daily tasks. Sometimes, someone would ask for the knight in question, and someone else would say they hadn’t seen them, or maybe they thought they did, or a similar response, but when Merlin and Arthur would look into it, even briefly -- the knight would never be found. And while Arthur didn’t think about it all that much, Merlin --- Merlin thought about it a whole lot. Especially when more and more knights ended up going missing, unable to be found, Arthur having to find more people to knight in order to replace the missing ones. Merlin thought about it so much that it slowly ended up taking over his existence -- to the point that Gaius had questioned him, Gwen had frowned and Arthur -- Arthur had stared, not saying anything.

But Merlin -- Merlin could begin to see a pattern and he just needed --- he just needed a couple of more clues, he couldn’t help but think, frowning slightly.

And those clues came when, of all the knights - Lancelot disappeared. He had been visiting, and Merlin knew he was visiting for Gwen - visiting to tell her of his feelings, visiting because ever since Gwen and Arthur had gone their separate ways, Gwen and Lance had been talking more and more and Merlin had been the one to help the other two see that feelings were returned, but no one else knew and --

Lance had gone missing, and he had his clues, but he absolutely hated the fact that it came at Lance’s safety. He hated it so much, that it was a surprise to no one that he had freaked out about it - a surprise to no one except Arthur, though.

Merlin hadn’t seen the looks Arthur had been giving him the longer he had searched for Lance, but if he had -- well, maybe he wouldn’t be feeling as insecure as he did right now, if only because of the fact that he had learned how to save the missing knights, and just wasn’t sure if he wanted to reveal himself so soon to Arthur.

But Merlin hadn’t seen the looks and thus, he was insecure over whether or not he could save the missing knights with Arthur so close.

And Arthur - well, Arthur was insecure for a whole slew of different reasons that had him grumbling under his breath as he walked ahead of Merlin on their way to the path that his --- that Merlin had said they needed to be on in order to ---

Arthur didn’t know. Arthur didn’t really pay attention, not when he found himself frowning more and more over the fact that Merlin was more focused on Lancelot. Lancelot - with his golden hewed skin, and his long dark hair and ---

Yeah, Arthur was jealous. Shut up about it. It’s not like Merlin would even notice, he couldn’t help but think as he practically stomped up the hill until he heard Merlin call out his name and he stopped. 

“Alright, Merlin, what is it that needs to be done?” Arthur finds himself questioning, a frown on his face as Merlin opens and closes his mouth, arms in the sleeves of his tunic. Arthur can’t help but wonder why Merlin looks so ---

“Merlin---” he says, teeth gnashing together as he tries not to snap at his manservant, all because he’s jealous that Merlin has been focusing more on Lancelot in the past few days than he has for Arthur. Arthur continues to wait for Merlin to respond, even going as far as turning around to stare at Merlin with an arch of his eyebrows, arms folding in front of his chest as he waits.

“Merlin,” Arthur says once more, a scowl forming on his face quickly as he watches Merlin shift on the spot, watches as Merlin doesn’t look at Arthur, like he’s afraid, his entire body tense with something that Arthur doesn’t understand.

“What aren’t you telling me, Merlin?” Arthur asks after a moment, stepping closer to his -- manservant, friend, unknown  _ something _ that Arthur wants to explain, especially to Merlin, but finds himself unable to do so.

With Merlin continuing to shift on the spot, looking anywhere but at Arthur - Arthur finds himself becoming more and more annoyed, the scowl becoming more pronounced than anything as he steps closer than before.

“So, I uh, I know how to get the knights back, funny that,” Merlin says, a small chuckle escaping from him that has Arthur feeling confused and wondering what’s going through his friend’s mind.

“And what way would that be, Merlin?” Arthur asks after a few moments of silence, stepping close once more, practically within a foot of Merlin, waiting. After a few moments, Arthur finds it impossible to continue allowing Merlin to look at him, clearly unsure, and he lets out an impatient huff of breath.

“What, Merlin? Is it magic or something?” He asks, throwing his hands up in the air before he finds his eyes widening when Merlin takes a step back with a gasp and his mouth opening, clearly surprised.

“Merlin, does magic have to be involved in order to get the knights back?” Arthur asks after a few minutes of silence, Merlin looking at him with eyes that speak volumes to Arthur - eyes that show terror and nerves and --

Merlin nods, and Arthur finds himself blowing out a breath, shaking his head briefly while placing his hands on his hips and beginning to pace, trying to figure out what to do now. He glances over at Merlin every few seconds, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he thinks over his next words carefully, knowing that they could very easily scare Merlin off.

“So then what’s stopping you from using your magic and getting your Lancelot back?” Arthur asks, his voice coming out grumpily after he states  _ your Lancelot _ , a frown on his face.

“What do you mean my magic, and my Lancelot?” Merlin asks, his head tilted and Arthur lets out a small scoff, shaking his head.

“Well, it’s not like you weren’t being completely obvious when it came to using Magic, Merlin. I just never mentioned it because I figured you would when you were ready to!” Arthur says, throwing his hands up in the air.

“And my Lancelot?” Merlin asks, Arthur frowning even more at that.

“Well, you --” Arthur begins, nearly stuttering, cheeks turning red, something he finds himself detesting in the morning.

“Because Lancelot isn’t  _ mine _ , Arthur. He’s Gwen’s,” Merlin adds, stepping close to Arthur, similar to how Arthur stepped close to Merlin earlier. Arthur finds himself opening and closing his mouth in turn, shaking his head briefly, eyes narrowing as he tries to figure out what’s going on.

“What do you mean, he’s  _ Gwen’s _ , Merlin?” Arthur says after a few minutes as snow begins to fall in a way that has Arthur scowling even more, arms folding into his chest as he tries to huddle for some warmth. He can see Merlin sigh, watches as Merlin steps forward once more, his hands resting on Arthur’s arms, rubbing up and down them, Arthur doing his best not to shiver for other reasons.

“Lancelot and Gwen have been….. Dancing around one another. I’ve been helping them both admit to their feelings. Lancelot was supposed to tell Gwen the morning he disappeared, which is why I’ve been so ---”

“Interested?” Arthur asks, arching an eyebrow when Merlin nods.

“Interested, yeah. I feel bad for Gwen, having to wait for Lancelot to admit his feelings, all because of bad timing,” Merlin scoffs, Arthur smiling softly.

“So then why aren’t you doing magic yet to get him and the other’s back?” Arthur asks with a frown.

“How’d --- why didn’t you ---” Merlin begins and Arthur finds himself smirking before he stares at Merlin fondly.

“Because Merlin, seeing you fumble everything except for when you use magic --” Arthur stops here, exhaling and shrugging his shoulders.

“It was exhilarating to see,” Arthur admits, his hand coming up to run his fingers over Merlin’s cheek, a small smile forming on his face instead of the usual smirk.

“And you never mentioned it because ----”

“Because at first I had to get used to the idea that the worst terrible manservant I’d ever had was not just magical, but ---” Arthur pauses here, biting his lower lip before leaning forward, slowly, placing his lips on Merlin’s, pausing briefly before he can feel Merlin begin to respond, a small smile forming on his face. After a few minutes, Arthur pulls away, resting his forehead against Merlin’s, hands around Merlin’s neck, resting.

“And then I had to look at my own prejudices and get over them, which was relatively easy with you saving my life way too often for me to like,” Arthur adds, voice teasing slightly as Merlin snorts.

“And once that was done, there was trying to figure out if I could convince my father, or if he was a lost cause,” Arthur admits, shrugging his shoulders, having come to the realization his father  _ was _ a lost cause, but not too upset about it simply because of the fact that he had Merlin, and his knights.

“And how long --” Merlin asks, and Arthur finds himself smiling.

“Long enough, Merlin. Now, let’s have you save the knights, then let’s go home,” Arthur whispers, kissing Merlin once more with a grin before he steps backward to watch Merlin do what he always does, and do it incredibly well.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! Comments are appreciated and responded to. ♥


End file.
